Birthday
by SilverMidnight52
Summary: When a date comes around Briggs notices Mike's depression. What is going on in that boys head? Warning inside. Sequel to 'Drawing'.


More sadness. Why did you guys have to ask for more sadness? Anyway, the sequel to 'Drawing'.

**Mentions of rape. Nothing graphic I promise.**

I own nothing. Please follow, favorite, review. Mostly though...Enjoy!

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"Briggs," Mike greeted softly.

Nodding my head back I placed my surfboard down before falling next to him. Mike had officially been part of Graceland for three months and I had to admit, to myself mostly, that he was good.

He, like everyone else, had secrets that he was good at hiding. Well, except for one. That one secret that no matter what you knew he was thinking about, because a haunted look came to his eyes when he did. That secret was Holly Reid.

It had been a month since our visit to the hospital and Mike just wasn't the same. Not that I could blame him. It was hard to lose someone that you cared about. And he obviously cared about her.

"She'd be seven today," Mike sighed looking towards the ocean, "I was planning on trying to take her to the art museum in Philly. She loved art. All kinds of art, but her favorite was of scenery. Trees, rivers, mountains. She'd spend hours looking through books filled with art saying one day she'd be in one of them."

Running a hand over my face I turned my eyes towards the water and thought about the day that I met Holly. I still couldn't get her eyes out of my head, but I found myself not wanting to.

In this line of work you had to be strong. You had to believe that there was nothing that you couldn't do and in the end when you were so sure that you were going to die you had to keep that strength going.

Holly wasn't an agent though. She was a six year old little girl who died before she could live. That look, that strength was in her though and, unlike us, there was no way for her to lie her way out of her death.

Sighing myself I thought back to the drawing that was still on the refrigerator door. No one had the heart to take it down. Though I doubt anyone had even really thought about doing that.

We met a lot of people in this work. Some of them stayed with you for the rest of your life. And even if we only spent a few hours with Holly one day a month ago I knew all of us still thought about her.

It was different for Mike though. He had known Holly for…Hmm…I actually had no idea how long he had known Holly. I didn't even know what she meant to him and I couldn't stop myself from being curious.

"How'd you know Holly?" I voiced my question.

"All my life I wanted to be in the FBI," Mike started, "I trained, I studied. I did everything I could to make sure I got what I wanted. Because of that I wasn't the most popular guy in school. I wasn't friendless by any means, but I never really did a lot of partying or anything like that.

In the end I really only had one friend. Her name was Kris Winchester. Now she loved…She loved to party. One morning there was this knocking on my window. Kris was outside tears streaming down her face. She told me that she had been at a party and that she woke up in a bed in the morning and that she didn't remember what happened to her.

I didn't know what I was supposed to do so she and I skipped that day and I just tried to help her. In the end I took her to a clinic and got her checked out. She didn't have any STDs and they gave her a number to a counselor and then we talked to the police before going back to my place.

We thought that was the end of it. Well, not the end because…You know what I mean. Anyway, a few weeks later Kris was throwing up and just feeling horrible. That went on for a bit before we went to the clinic once more. She was pregnant. That _thing_ had gotten her pregnant.

She didn't know what to do and neither did I. It took almost three months before Kris decided that she was going to give the baby up for adoption and just try to put everything behind her. But it was difficult for her. She was still trying to come to terms with everything. So I decided to help.

Going to the agency, filling out the paperwork I could, helping her with what she had to fill out, and in the end meeting with the couples that wanted to adopt the baby. I tried to get Kris to come, but she couldn't. She just wanted this over with. Not to even think about it anymore.

In the end I picked the Reid family. Nick and Sam Reid. Both of them were amazing people and teachers and I had wanted the best for the baby. They were so happy when I told them the news, but…I guess in a way I wasn't all that happy about it. I had…I loved that baby already and I knew that as soon as it was born I'd never get to see it again. At least that's what I thought.

The Reid's must have seen the emotions I was trying to hide because they offered to let me stay in the baby's life. Briggs, when they told me that…I never thought I could be happier. I was going to be able to stay in its life. Be able to hold it, teach it. It was just amazing to know that.

When Kris went into labor the Reid's and I were in the room. I watched this wonderfully beautiful little girl be born and I knew that I was going to be able to watch her grow up. I didn't stop smiling that whole day, even more so when I was finally able to hold the baby.

Little Holly Reid. Her little smooched face, her red skin, her wails. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It wasn't until that moment, when I was holding her that I felt angry at the situation. I was going to have to give her to the Reid's. She wasn't even my child, Briggs. But I loved her so much. Like she was mine. I love her."

Mike trailed off tears streaming down his face by this point. I knew I should say something to help comfort him, but I couldn't help but feel frozen for a moment. I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to do.

I expected Mike to say that Holly was neighbors kid, a niece, maybe a little sister, but this? No, I had defiantly not thought anything like this. But it did tell me a lot about the type of person Mike was.

I wasn't surprised that Mike had ended up loving Holly like she was his own and part of me knew that if she had been his child or he hadn't found a family he thought was right he would have raised her. Maybe Mike even regretted that he wasn't able to.

That was why all of this was hitting the man so hard. Holly might not share his blood and she might have been raised by different people, but in his heart she was his daughter.

"Mike," I sighed wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

"I know," Mike responded.

"Tell me about her."

Mike looked up at me in surprise. I don't know what he was expecting me to say, but for some reason I knew that it probably wasn't a nice thing. That didn't matter right now though.

Right now, Mike was feeling like he had just lost a daughter and I was going to be there for him. I had to be there for him. Not because he was my responsibility, but because he deserved that.

For the next few hours Mike and I just sat there. Him telling random stories of things he and Holly had done. With each story though I could see that he was beginning to feel a little better.

I didn't doubt that this was going to be hard for him. It would be hard on anyone, but now he knew that he had someone to talk to. And that was a good feeling to have for anyone.

It was around noon when Mike slowly stopped talking and started to look back at the ocean. The tears had dried by now, but the sadness in his eyes was still there in full force.

"She liked you," Mike whispered, "She liked everyone, but she really liked you. Especially your necklace. That's what we talked about after you guys left and she woke up. She just kept smiling and talking about how happy she was that I was here. That I had found you guys. I don't know exactly what she thought, but I think she thought I belonged here."

"Who says you don't?" I questioned.

"I keep screwing up."

"You're a rookie. It happens. Hell, even people who have done this for years mess up. It just happens sometimes."

"She said you were the King. The protector of everyone. That if anything even threatened to hurt Graceland that you would be the one to stop it. That if anything threatened to hurt the people in Graceland you'd stop it."

"Smart girl."

"Yeah, she was. She said…"

Once again Mike stopped talking. Though this time I noticed that small blush that came to his cheeks. Oh I couldn't wait to hear what Holly had said to the man to get him to look like that.

"She said…" I prompted.

"She said that I was the Prince," Mike smiled, "That you'd be there to show me everything I needed to know and one day when I had to that I'd be there to save the King."

"That why you're worried about messing up?"

"Yeah."

"Let me tell you something, Mike. Holly might be right. One day you might have to save me. I don't see that happening, but you never know. But if that time ever does come you want to know something?"

"What?"

"I know you'll save me. Come on, we should get inside. Grab something to eat."

"Yeah, okay. Happy birthday, Holly. Wherever you are. I love you, sweetheart."

"Happy birthday."


End file.
